IMPAC Media Coverage

Many consumers are afraid to purchase their prescriptions from an internet or mailorder pharmacy. They hear stories about counterfeit drugs or diluted drugs or altered drugs. They do not know where the drugs are manufactured or where the pharmacy is located. Matter of fact, the FDA raises the same issues when they talk about buying from Canadian pharmacies or importation of drugs. The fact is that until recently, there were no international quality standards for internet and mailorder pharmacies in the United States or Canada. It was very hard to impossible for consumers to identify high quality internet and mailorder pharmacies.

A new accreditation commission, Internet and Mailorder Pharmacies Accreditation Commission or IMPAC, was formed to address these issues of quality and safety. IMPAC has 89 quality measures that fall into eight categories: Quality Assurance, Pharmacy Management, Consumer Safety, Customer Satisfaction, Health Information Technology, Website Content, Shipping and Handling and Customer Call Center. An accredited pharmacy has to meet all of the standards to earn accreditation. 

How does IMPAC know that the internet and mailorder pharmacy meets these standards? A pharmacist and administrator from IMPAC do a two day visit to the internet and mailorder pharmacy. They do an inspection of the facility. They interview staff. They review the licenses and credentials of the pharmacists, physicians, and staff. They look at their policies and procedures and how they are applied. They analyze their data and how they make improvements to their operation. In short, they do an on-site verification that the internet and mailorder pharmacy meets the IMPAC quality standards. This process is the same process that hospitals go through with JCAHO and the same process that businesses go through with ISO 9000.

IMPAC does not apply just to Canadian or international pharmacies. It applies to internet and mailorder pharmacies in the United States. For example, the gold standard for safety is that prescription drugs from a mailorder pharmacy should arrive in the manufacturer’s sealed container, whenever feasible. Express Scripts, one of the largest U.S. mailorder pharmacies, distribute medications in unsealed containers of their own. There is an opportunity to alter the medication from the point the prescription is filled until it is placed the tamper proof mailing bag. The chain of custody from the manufacturer to the consumer is broken. This process would not meet IMPAC standards.

IMPAC helps the consumer and improves the pharmacy industry. IMPAC has set the gold standard for internet and mailorder pharmacy quality. There is now a way to compare one pharmacy with another pharmacy based on these standards. The consumer can look for the IMPAC seal on an accredited pharmacy’s website or they can go to IMPAC’s website, www.impacsurvey.org, for a list of accredited pharmacies. It will help the consumer identify high quality pharmacies knowing that the pharmacy has met a set of standards.

IMPAC differs from other accreditations and certifications. First, it is international although it is based in the United States. Second, there is no support or money from the pharmaceutical manufacturers, the retail pharmacy industry or the government. Third, there is on-site verification of quality standards through a consistent process.

It is hard to know which internet and mailorder pharmacy is high quality. Many of the websites are glitzy and look professional but remember that is just advertising. It is easy to be scared by the safety concerns, especially when it comes the FDA, a U. S. government agency. The IMPAC seal is one way to identify that an internet and mailorder pharmacy has met quality and safety standards. It can help consumers make choices as they search for safe and affordable prescription drugs, in the United States, as well as from other countries.